In an e-mail sent Wednesday, officials of Washington DC’s Sidwell Friends School notified parents and other members of the Sidwell community of the criminal charges filed against Robert A. “Pete” Peterson, 65—a recently terminated teacher of 30 years [7th & 8th grades] of Sidwell, and the director of the school’s Camp Corsica, located just outside Centerville, Md.

According to Montgomery and Queen Anne’s county officials, Peterson has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor and some two counts of sexual offense in the fourth degree. From the summer of 2008 to 2009, Peterson had been reportedly inviting a male student to perform [paid] chores at his home in Silver Spring, Md.

The student alleges that while at Peterson’s home, he was shown pornography and was touched in an inappropriate manner by Peterson. The allegations were reported to police in September of 2009—this according to Montgomery County Police.

Peterson’s attorney, Barry Helfand, denies the allegations and claims that his client is innocent. Peterson was just recently released on $250,000 bond.

As is procedural for allegations of this nature, Peterson was placed on leave before the 09-10 school years, and has since been denied access to the Sidwell campus, including any of its event functions. Sidwell officials terminated Peterson on January 14, 2010.

While no official statement on the matter has been released by the Obamas whose daughters attend Sidwell, many parents have been concerned over the amount of time it took Sidwell officials to notify them of the allegations (now criminal charges) against Peterson. Reportedly, parents who had been asking about Peterson’s absence were told that he had a chronic illness.

School officials maintain that they have handled the matter appropriately, indicating that there was no need to inform the Sidwell community of the allegations until charges were filed. Nevertheless the school has taken customary steps in making sure that counselors are available to students, following the news of Peterson’s removal.

The nature of the charges against Peterson has raised broader questions about the safety of students in the educational environment, and whether more ongoing scrutiny needs to occur with the background checks of educators at both public and private institutions. Whether the allegations against Peterson could have been prevented through a more thorough and ongoing set of “character and fitness” background probes remains in question.

But, Washington Post Columnist Valerie Strauss put it best when she wrote “Human behavior– and misbehavior– doesn’t stop at the walls of any elite institution. Any of the people connected with any of the expensive private schools have no bigger claim to a higher morality than anybody else.” And were it not for Sidwell being a school where some of the nation’s most powerful people send their children, Peterson’s case would be just another sexual scandal reduced to local news, and filed to the long list of criminal vignettes one can read about in plain language on their respective municipal sex offender registry.

Source(s): Washington Post

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